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Street Fighter Alpha 3
Street Fighter Alpha 3, known as ストリートファイター in Japan and Asia, is a 1998 fighting game by Capcom originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware. It is the third game in the Street Fighter Alpha series, following Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and Street Fighter Alpha 2. The gameplay system from the previous Alpha games was given a complete overhaul with the addition of three selectable fighting styles based on Street Fighter Alpha (A-ISM), Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Z-ISM), and Super Street Fighter II Turbo (X-ISM), new stages, a much larger roster of characters, and new theme music for all the returning characters. Gameplay Street Fighter Alpha 3 discards the Manual and Auto modes from the previous Alpha games by offering the player three different playing styles known as "isms." The standard playing style, A-ism (or Z-ism in Japan), is based on the previous Alpha games, in which the player has a three-level Super Combo gauge with access to several Super Combo moves. X-ism is a simple style based on Super Street Fighter II Turbo, in which the player has a single-level Super Combo gauge and access to a single, but powerful, Super Combo move. The third style, V-ism (or variable style), a unique style that allows the player to perform Custom Combos similar to the ones in Street Fighter Alpha 2. In X-ism, players cannot air-block nor use Alpha Counters. Alpha 3 also introduces a Guard Power gauge which depletes each time the player blocks - everytime the gauge is completely depleted, the player suffers a "guard crush" (in which the gauge itself decreases in size, thus causing the player to gradatively lose ability to block attacks as the guard gauge keeps decreasing) which leaves him/her temporarily vulnerable for an attack. The controls for several actions has been modified from previous Alpha games. For example, the level of a Super Combo move in A-ism is now determined by the strength of the attack button pressed (i.e. Medium Punch or Kick for a Lv. 2 Super Combo), rather than the number of buttons pushed; and throwing is now done by pressing two punch or kick buttons simultaneously. Characters As with the previous Alpha titles, several characters were added to the game: Cammy, who was previously featured in the console-exclusive Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, makes her official Alpha debut in the game along with several characters from Street Fighter II including E. Honda, Blanka, and Vega. Characters new to the Street Fighter series includes R. Mika, a Japanese female wrestler who idolizes Zangief; Karin, Sakura's rival who was first introduced in Masahiko Nakahira's manga Sakura Ganbaru!; and Cody from Final Fight, who was transformed from a vigilante into an escaped convict, makes his Street Fighter debut. The single player mode consist of ten or eleven matches against computer-controlled opponents. The fifth and ninth opponent is a rival of the player's character who exchanges dialogue before and after the match. Unlike previous Alpha games, the final match for all the regular characters is against a more powerful version of M. Bison (officially known as Final Bison) who uses a more powerful version of the Psycho Crusher as a Super Combo. Depending on the player's character, the final match with Bison may be preceded with either a one-on-two match against Bison's female bodyguards Juni and Juli (who use similar techniques to Cammy), or the boxer Balrog. In the arcade version, Balrog, Juni, and Juli are secret selectable characters. Returning characters New characters Home version additions In the PlayStation version, Balrog, Juni and Juli became regular characters with their own storylines, win quotes and endings. Also, with the exception of Guile, the remaining characters introduced in Super Street Fighter II, T. Hawk, Dee Jay and Fei-Long, were added to the selectable roster. Completing certain requirements in World Tour mode also unlocks Guile, Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma (sharing Akuma's slot), while EX Balrog (sharing Balrog's slot) is unlockable through Arcade mode. Along with the same additions as the PlayStation version, the Dreamcast and Saturn versions added Guile and Evil Ryu to the default roster, while the player can also gain access to Final Bison, who shares his slot with his original form. Portable version additions The Game Boy Advance version contains all the additional characters from the console versions, as well as three additional characters from Capcom vs. SNK 2: Yun, Maki, and Eagle. The PlayStation Portable version, Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, contains the same additional characters, as well as Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Jam.